Life for murderers who tortured disabled victim

Three killers have been jailed for life for the “vile” torture and murder of a disabled woman in a case described as a “chronicle of heartlessness” by a senior judge.

Chantelle Booth, 22, received a minimum 21-year sentence with Daniel Newstead, 20, jailed for a minimum of 20 years and Joe Boyer, 18, for a minimum of 16 years for the murder of 27-year-old Gemma Hayter.

Jessica Lynas, 19, was jailed for 13 years and Duncan Edwards, 20, for 15 years for the manslaughter of Miss Hayter, whose body was found in August last year on a disused railway line in Rugby.

Miss Hayter, who had learning difficulties and was disabled, was forced to drink urine, hit with a mop and beaten in a flat before being escorted to a disused railway line where she was stripped naked, beaten and had a plastic bag put over her head, the court heard.

Lady Justice Rafferty, sentencing the five, all from Rugby, Warwickshire, described the case as a “chronicle of heartlessness”.

Speaking afterwards, Det Chief Ins James Essex, of Warwickshire Police, who lead the investigation into the killing, said: “Gemma Hayter was a vulnerable young woman who was brutally killed at the hands of five people who she considered to be her friends.”